
Rashin Kheiriyeh
artist + illustrator
Growing up in Tehran, Rashin Kheiriyeh wanted to be a painter like her mother. At 16, she refused to go anywhere but art school, where she fell in love with illustration. Her eye for Persian patterns + fascination with fairy tales led to a career of publishing more than 50 picture books ~ in ten countries. Plus, a credit for creating Iran's most popular animated series Sugarland.
Since moving to the US in 2011, Rashin has continued her award-winning work as an illustrator, animator, painter + author. Her new goal? To bring the wit + timeless messages of the Persian literature she grew up with to kids all over the world. These stories, she says, "need to be retold, and understandable and digestible for modern society."
beautiful blending | colorful Persian art + traditional patterns with modern graphic design elements
bringing new life to Persian children's fables | with bold illustrations + humorous twists
{also ~ have your eye out for the notes written in Farsi she tucks in...}
children's books in 10 countries | including India, Spain, South Korea, France + Germany
creating Iran's most famous animated series | Shekarestan {Sugarland} inspired line of characters, schools and playgrounds that use her characters to welcome people to Iran
clever editorial illustrations | for clients like The New York Times
2001 | won her first major international award ~ The 5th Tehran Illustration Biannual's First Award
{the youngest artist ever to win}
2008 | produced her first animated feature ~ The Young Man and the Cunning Tailor
2014 | first book published in the US ~ Two Parrots ~ adapted from a fable by the 13th-Century Poet Rumi
from | to
aspiring artist learning to paint in her mom's Tehran studio | award-winning international artist, illustrator, animator + writer determined to bring Persian stories to a wider audience
born on
December 25, 1979
born in
Khoramshahr, Iran
birth name
Rashin Kheiriyeh
citizen of
Iran
daughter of
Hossein Kheiriyeh
~ engineer + university professor ~
Zhila Nikookar
~ artist + painter + midwife ~
sister of
one brother | Ramin Kheiriyeh
educated at
Azadegan Art School
~ Tehran | illustration | 2007 ~
Alzahra University
~ Tehran | MFA Graphics | 2008 {honorary PhD given by Iranian government | 2015} ~
The School of Visual Arts
~ New York | Training Certificate | 2011 ~
loved studying
art {not math}
favorite book as a child
The Adventures of Tin Tin
married to
Sina Nayeri
~ graphic artist + animator ~
influenced by
Persian artists | Farshid Mesghali + Momayez
Nicolas Bianco | French artist
Rumi | 13th-century poet
Persian literature | Shahmaneh + 1001 Nights
in her spare time
likes driving {a bonus ~ traffic in the States isn't bad compared to Tehran}
goes shopping
cooks | makes a mean zereschk polow {saffron rice with chicken + berries}
collapse bio bits"I didn't want to paint about the politics problem in Iran, just paint women [who] don't like to pay attention to the news."
Iranian Artist Shows Window into Her World | december 2011
"I want to paint peaceful things, and show the beauty of Iran. I will try to paint something about hope."
Iranian Artist Shows Window Into Her World | december 2011
"No matter how much the merchant cared for and tended to his parrot, the colorful bird seemed sad."
Two Parrots | june 2014
"Sometimes you want to paint your imagination, your fantasy . . . you want to tell your own story."
The Persian Book: Animation and Illustration | june 2014
"The black cat is kind of my sign in most of my picture books. I just use it as a playful character."
'Two Parrots' by Local Author Rashin Kheiriyeh is Fun and Feathery | july 2014
"I saw some things in adult sections related to Iran—mostly about politics, but I couldn't find anything in the children's sections and none of the stories I'd grown up with. So I thought maybe my first book should be a story from Iran that introduces my culture to the kids here."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"I love the way Rumi looked at society, his logic. He wrote in the 13th Century. His poems are fun because there's always a hidden meaning."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"When I'm very sad, and I actually start to paint, the sadness is gone. Sometimes it's the physical action of drawing, or it can be the colors. Sometimes the individual thing that came from my imagination at that moment is a surprise. Sometimes, I draw a funny character and that makes me laugh."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"The relationship between you and the image you're painting—It's like it's alive and talking to you. Like a friend."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"There are some things, some messages that come from the culture. But sometimes you censor yourself because you're afraid you won't like it, or somebody won't like it."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"There are a lot of great artists who never leave their studios, which I don't think is good. There are many artists who are better than I am, but they aren't as visible."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"When you get feedback on your work, you know better how to grow up in your profession."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"Read a lot of fiction. That will help you find great visual things in your imagination."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
"You have to practice with your eyes, understanding the elements of what makes a good illustration. Drawing is also a daily practice. I'm always sitting here sketching something—otherwise, when I go to work, my drawing will be flat."
discover...Rashin | march 2015
for further reading about Rashin Kheiriyeh:
curated with care by Alicia Williamson
Rashin's Shekarestan/Sugarland series
Rashin turned the love of animation she discovered in art school into becoming the character artist for Iran's most popular animated series. Shekarestan, or "Sugarland," has been on air since 2009 ~ earning the imaginative artist a serious fan following {not to mention, multiple international awards}. There are now more than 200 episodes. Plus...dvds, posters, toys, games, school supplies + lots of other fun merch!
courtesy of Rashinart.com
Rashin's art exhibitions
Rashin's first solo exhibition of her paintings was in Tehran in 2010. Her striking canvasses have been displayed in galleries + museums from Montana to Paris!
Parhama Baniabbas
Sugarland {Shekarestan}
Rashin's hit animation series has aired 200 episodes on Iranian tv ~ check out why Sugarland has won the hearts of kids + adults alike!
Rashin Kheiriyeh
Rashin with her recent work | Sinbad the Sailor
Quotabelle had the pleasure of visiting Rashin in her Reston, Virginia studio soon after she had finished the illustrations for her third book in the US ~ a vivid adaptation of a tale from 1001 Nights!
Quotabelle